Match-safe.



M, B. KELLER.

MATCH SAFE. APPLIGATIONV'FILBD .TUNE 18, 1907.

Patented Feb. 23, 1909.

wi h1 zoom MARTIN B. KELLER, OF MANHEIM, PENNSYLVANIA.

MATClF-SAFE.

Application filed June 1S, 1907.

T o all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, MrinirN B. KELLER., a citizen of the United States, residing at Manheim, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match-Safes, of Which the folloWinOl is a specification.

My invention re ates to match-safes, and the object thereof is to produce a match-reservoir equipped With means for segregating and expelling a single match from the contained and inclosed store, thus preventing the waste which usually results where matches in quantity are exposed for use.

To this end the invention comprises the elements, combinations, and arrangements of parts, all as hereinafter fully set forth and succinctly delined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and in'which I have illustrated several forms of embodiment of the invention: Figure l is a perspective of a Wall-safe embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 g Fig. 4 is a perspective of the segregating and expelling member proper; and Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of modied forms of the invention, adapted for pocket use.

Referring-to the numerals on the drawings, 1 indicates a match-reservoir, which, as shown in the referred form of embodiment of Fig. 1, is cy indrical in form, and of proper length and size to accommodate a store of matches.

2 indicates holding ears whereby the safe may be secured to a wall, and 3 indicates a cap or cover at one end of the safe which is removable to afford access to the interior thereof.

4 indicates the segregating member proper, which preferably consists of a piece of tin, not so long as the matches to be operated upon, bent so as to form, in connection with the wall of the reservoir in relation to which it is slidably movable, a trough, closed at one end, as at 4a, and deep enough to accommodate one match.l Possibility of movement of said member 4 With respect to the wall of the safe is aiforded by connected slots 5 and 6 in the said Wall, one of said slots being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the safe, and the other slot transverse to said axis, through which projects a in 7 rigidly attached to member 4 within-t e safe, and hav- Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23,v 1909.

Serial N0. 379,538.

ing an enlarged head or thumb-piece S on the exterior of the safe.. The reservoir must of course be o1" greater length than the member 4 or the contained matches, and the slots 5 and 5 are so positioned that free movement of the member 4 may be had within the safe. Attached to the inside of the safe, beginning at a point substantially in alinemcnt with the transverse slot is a stop-piece 9, preferably a strip of metal, extending to one, prelera'ly the permanently closed, end of the safe.

When b y means of the head S the member 4 is moved from the position of Fig. 2, at the closed end of the transverse slot, to the position of Fig. 3, at the open end thereof, the member 4, in connection with the wall of the safe and the strip 9, forms a closure for a match segregated by member 4 by such movement, said closure being open at one end, as will be evident. In the end of the cylinder towards which longitudinal movement of the pin 7 in slot 6 takes place away from slot 5, is provided an aperture 1U, large enough to permit passage of a match therethrough, and directly below the strip 9.

A match having been segregated, as described, and the member 4 moved to the position of Fig. 3, the match is inclosed on all sides except towards aperture 10. If now the thumb-piece 8 be moved smartly towards the closed end of slot 6, the matches will be at least partly expelled through said aperture, and may be readily withdrawn.

It is preferred to provide a guide to compel movement of the member 4 at all times in line with the longitudinal axis of the safe, so as to make the action of the device smooth. In the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, in which the reservoir is cylindrical, such a guide is constituted by a substantially cylindrical sleeve 12 attached to or integral with the member 4, adapted to be rotatively moved within the cylinder, and cut away so that it will not contact with the stop strip 9.

The form illustrated in Fig. 5 being rectangular instead of cylindrical, there is no member 12, but in other respects the structure and operation are identical with those of the forms shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

The mode of operation ol the device is thought to be clear from the foregoing and further detailed description is accordingly omitted. I may, however, if preferred, make the aperture 10 large enough for the stem of a match, but a trifle smaller than the head thereof; if the matches be arranged in the reservoir so that they will be expelled stem irst, the friction of the head against the wall of the aperture when the match is pulled out will be suiiicient to ignite it.

I/Vhat I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a reservoir adapted to contain a store of matches, two connected slots in a wall of said reservoir, transverse to each other g a movable trough-shaped member within the reservoir; a stationary strip in the reservoir, an aperture at one end of the reservoir, in line with said strip, adapted to permit the passage of a match; a pin projecting through the slots and attached to said trough-shaped member, and a thumb-piece attached to said pin eXteriorly of the reservoir.

2. In a device of the character described, a reservoir adapted to contain a store of matches, a wall of said reservoir being provided with two connected slots, transverse to each other a match selecting member movable along the inner wall of said reservoir, a pin projecting through said slots and attached to said match selecting member,

and a stationary strip in said reservoir alined with said match selecting member and adapted to coperate therewith to segregate a selected match.

3. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical reservoir adapted to contain a store of matches, a wall of said reservoir being provided with two connected slots,

transverse to each other; a match selecting member movable along the inner wall of said reservoir, a pin projecting through said slots and attached to said match selecting member, and a stationary strip in said reservoir lined with said selecting member and adapted to coperate therewith to segregate a selected match, and a guide for said match selecting member shaped conformably to the inner wall of said reservoir.

4. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical reservoir adapted to contain a store of matches, a wall of said reservoir being provided with two connected slots, transverse to each other; a match selecting member movable along the inner wall of said reservoir in two directions at right angles to each other, a pin projecting through said slots and attached to said match selecting member, a stationary strip in said reservoir alined with said selecting member and adapted to cooperate therewith to segregate a selected match, and a guide for the movement of said match selecting member in one direction, shaped conformably to the inner wall of said reservoir.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADAM DELLET, WV. J. MINGLE. 

